Tiger Woods wasn’t afraid to speak his mind while addressing the media Tuesday ahead of this week’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, a tournament he hosts. Woods was in the field until he was forced to withdraw Monday due to plantar fasciitis.
“I think (Greg Norman) has to go, first of all,” said Woods, “and then obviously the litigation against us and then our countersuit against them. Those would then have to be at a stay as well, then we can talk, we can all talk freely.”
It didn’t take long for a LIV Golf member to dispute Woods’ comments, as his old rival Phil Mickelson took to Twitter to counterpoint the 15-time major champion’s claim the PGA Tour took out an $800 million loan during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Add Sergio Garcia as another player coming to Norman’s rescue. During an interview with the Spanish outlet Marca, Garcia had this to say:
“They (Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy) say that Greg Norman has to go; and Monahan has to stay or go? It’s very easy to say those on the other side have to go. And those on your side? There are also people who have done things wrong.
“You have to look at everything. Greg Norman is our CEO and we support him. We all wish we could come to an agreement. There are people who could have done wrong in both places, but it seems that there are only bad guys on one side.”
LIV Golf recently released part of its 2023 schedule, including a stop at El Camaleon Golf Club, a course with a long history of hosting the PGA Tour.
In seven starts on the Saudi-circuit this past season, Garcia grabbed four top-10 finishes as an individual and was part of one team win in Bangkok.